§ 694 — Urban development action area project and approval thereof

§ 694. Urban development action area project and approval thereof. 1.\nFollowing or in conjunction with the designation of an area or the\nwaiver of an area designation pursuant to section six hundred\nninety-three of this article, the agency shall prepare or cause to be\nprepared, with provisions which, where appropriate, are expressly\ndesigned to encourage and stimulate businesses experienced in the\ndevelopment of one to four family low-rise residential structures or\nminority or women-owned business enterprises in proposed projects, a\nproject summary for a proposed urban development action area project.\n 2. A proposal for an urban development action area or for a part or\nportion of such area, shall be submitted to the commission which shall\ncertify, after a public hearing held on due notice, its unqualified\napproval, its disapproval, or its qualified approval with\nrecommendations for modifications therein. The commission shall forward\nits certification to the governing body.\n 3. Following receipt of the commission's certification after a public\nhearing held on due notice, the governing body may:\n (a) if the commission shall have certified its unqualified approval,\napprove the area designation by a majority vote;\n (b) if the commission shall have certified its disapproval\nnevertheless approve the area designation, but only by a three-fourths\nvote;\n (c) if the commission shall have certified its qualified approval\ntogether with recommendations for modifications, approve the area\ndesignation together with the modifications recommended by the\ncommission by a majority vote, or approve the area designation without\nsuch modifications but only by a three-fourths vote.\n 4. In order to approve the proposal for an urban development action\narea the governing body must by resolution first find that: (a) the\npresent status of the area tends to impair or arrest the sound growth\nand development of the municipality;\n (b) the financial aid in the form of tax incentives, if any, to be\nprovided by the municipality pursuant to section six hundred ninety-six\nof this article, is necessary to enable the project to be undertaken;\nand\n (c) the area designation is consistent with the policy and purposes\nstated in section six hundred ninety-one of this article.\n 5. Any approval of an urban development action area project shall be\nin conformance with the standards and procedures required for all land\nuse determinations pursuant to general, special or local law or charter.\nIn a city having a population of one million or more, the governing body\nmay require that the agency incorporate into the project any or all of\nthe following: (i) the proposed number of residential units; (ii)\nwhether such units are home ownership units, rental units or condominium\nor cooperative units; (iii) a best estimate of the initial rents or\nselling prices for such units; (iv) the proposed income restrictions, if\nany, on renters or purchasers of such units; and (v) the basis on which\nthe consideration for the sale or lease of the property is to be\ndetermined. Provided, however, that if the proposed urban development\naction area project consists solely of the rehabilitation or\nconservation of existing private or multiple dwellings or the\nconstruction of one to four unit dwellings or, until June thirtieth, two\nthousand twenty-seven, for up to six urban development action area\nprojects in any calendar year, the construction of up to ninety dwelling\nunits financed by the federal government and restricted to occupancy by\nthe elderly or by persons with disabilities without any change in land\nuse permitted by local zoning, the governing body, or the commission\nwhere so authorized to act by the governing body, may waive any such\nstandards and procedures required by local law or charter.\n